


Blooming

by HyphenL



Category: Naruto
Genre: Dark, Grooming, Incest, M/M, Manipulation, Sexual Violence, Time Skips, Underage Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-13 14:53:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20176099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyphenL/pseuds/HyphenL
Summary: Itachi manipulates his younger brother into entering a sexual relationship with him. It gets trickier as Sasuke grows up and starts questioning it.AU where the Uchiha clan didn't get murdered, the Legendary Sannin are still around and Naruto's family is alive.





	1. Blooming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goddamnitaisha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddamnitaisha/gifts).

> This is a study in manipulation and child grooming written for cathartic purposes. TW for those concerned.

"I don’t think they’ll let me stay in ANBU", Itachi said in a contrite voice, even though "they" had been fighting for month to get the genius Uchiha boy in "their" ranks. Every political instance in Konoha had been at each other throat over who would grab an hold of the Uchiha prodigy, and of his wonderful eyes. "They" very well knew he would most definitely develop a Mangekyou, and that whomever had Itachi on their side would soon be able to rely on the most powerful weapon of mass destruction.

"Oh?" Sasuke interrupted himself from throwing his cute little kunais in the nearby tree, his huge, black eyes immediately filled with compassionate worry. "Of course not, nii-san! You’re the best fighter in Konoha! They’ll let you stay for sure!"

Itachi smiled back with a precise amount of evident disbelief and responded to the following hug very warmly.

That’s step one.

Step two consisted in repeating step one with many variations over the next few days, making sure Sasuke beared witness toeven the openly private displays of worry, until he crawled on Itachi’s bed to sit next to him with those big black eyes fixated on him. "Why would they kick you out?" he asked with concern. He acted very serious, to show he knew this was a grown up matter and that he was up to it.

Itachi gently brushed his little bother’s spiky black hair, considering his answer. "You won’t tell mom and dad?" he eventually caved.

"Of course not!"

Itachi smiled, warmly. "Thank you, otouto." He kissed his brown, and put back on a face of concern. "You know I was let in very young as compared as to the average recruitment age?"

Sasuke pouted. "Everyone knows that." He leaned affectionately into the hand that stroked his cheek.

"And while I’m very glad I made our parents and clan proud, I am…" Itachi sighed. "I shouldn’t be burdening my adorable little brother with my issues."

"I’m not that little!" Sasuke protested. "You can tell me!"

"I don’t know…"

"Please", the boy pouted, pushing his puppy eyes up.

"Alright", Itachi conceded. "But only because it’s you." Sasuke squealed in delight, then caught himself and did his best to look serious again. His brother smiled, gently, and pursued. "There are some… _missions_ that are uneasy for a thirteen year old to complete. I fear they will go back on their decision to let me in because I do not perform well in those."

"But you’re good at everything", Sasuke protested. "You just have to train harder!"

Itachi pulled an amused face, then a sigh. "This kind of… training… it’s not as easy as throwing kunais."

"I’m sure you can do it anyway."

Sasuke is so cute. Itachi leaned in to wrap him into a hug, pulling in unto his lap to kiss his cheek.

"It’s not that simple."

"It can’t be that hard. Not for you!"

Itachi kissed him again, and Sasuke giggled.

"Thank you for your support, otouto."

But the next days he kept acting concerned and preoccupied, in a way that didn’t tick their parents because they knew work at ANBU was hard, but triggered little Sasuke’s compassionate worry.

"What kind of mission?" he asked as they were alone in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Itachi scrubbed and Sasuke dried, they worked very well as a team.

Itachi gave him a long look. "That’s not for a child to hear."

"I’m not a child! I’m getting into the Academy, remember?" Sasuke puffed out like a small, featherless peacock. "I’ll soon be as strong as you, just you wait."

Itachi smiled, but he didn’t answer Sasuke’s question that time.

He answered it two days later, as they’re both reading on Sasuke’s bed. "It’s called ‘honeypot’ mission. The goal is to seduce a target into giving you information."

"Seduce?"

"As in, sleep with."

"Ew!" Sasuke didn’t really know what that actually imply, but he did know disgust was the awaited response to that kind of innuendo. "Can’t you just kick it out of them?"

Itachi sighed. "No. Now keep quiet, please. I need to read this."

Sasuke’s bottom lip quivered in guilt. Itachi was very concerned about the issue, and he’d just made fun of it… "I’m sorry."

"It’s nothing. Shush, now."

Sasuke asked his mother about honeypot missions after that, and Itachi got even angrier. Not outrightly furious, but coldly upset at him.

"I told you not to tell either of our parents."

"I just wanted to know what it meant…" Sasuke seemed quite ashamed, flushed and embarrassed in the most kissable way.

"And I don’t want to worry them. They have a lot of work already; I don’t want to add to that."

"I’m sorry."

"I know. But that just means I can’t rely on you with this, otouto. Just forget it all, please."

Sasuke looked devastated. "I… didn’t mean to…"

"It’s fine." Itachi turned his back on him, and walked out. The hardest part was not turning around to look at Sasuke’s deliciously crushed expression.

Days later, Sasuke sneaked into Itachi’s room with a scroll in hand, that he shyly put on his brother’s desk.

"I’m busy, otouto. What is it?"

"A scroll." Sasuke shrank under Itachi’s blank gaze. "About honeypot. Training."

He seemed unsure, yet eager to redeem himself. "I snuck it out of dad’s office."

"You can’t be stealing scrolls from an official, Sasuke."

"But I wanted to help!" He looked so desperate Itachi eventually sighed.

"Alright." He took the scroll, opened it to gaze at it, then put it back down. "I already know all that, otouto. The issue is not about theory, it’s…" He pointedly hesitated. "…Practice."

"We can practice", Sasuke blurted out, jumping on the occasion to spend more time with his brother.

Itachi dead pans. "No."

"But…"

"No. You have no idea what you’re talking about, Sasuke. Take back that scroll to dad’s office, and don’t let him catch you. He’d be very disappointed."

Sasuke’s mood plummeted, and he carefully rolled back the scroll before leaving his brother’s room. Though on the way back he paused to read the contents of the stolen item, so his brother would not be able to accuse him of ignorance on the matter again.

*

"And what’s penetration?"

"It’s the act of inserting something in someone’s mouth or genitals for sexual pleasure", Sasuke responded dutifully.

"Hn." Itachi looked at him with false skepticism. In truth, he could barely contain his excitement. It had taken him month of careful back and forth to bring Sasuke to this point, and it was growing harder to keep his impatience in check. Or, just growing harder.

"I don’t know."

"You said that…"

"I know what I said", Itachi scoffed irritably. He’d promised Sasuke that, perhaps, if Sasuke actually knew what he was talking about, he _may_ be allowed to help.

Of course Sasuke understood the words but he didn’t quite fully grasp their actual meaning. To him, this was all a game that allowed him to spend time with his big brother, with the added bonus of being the one to help, for once.

"I still don’t think this is a good idea", Itachi sighed.

"But I can help!" Sasuke protested. He’d worked very hard to get back in Itachi’s good graces, and to sneak back into his very busy agenda of pretending he was too taken with honeypot training to spare his little brother any time.

Itachi glanced at him, a look of concern on his face. "Sasuke, you don’t understand what you’re talking about. We’re brothers. Our parents—"

"They don’t have to know", Sasuke pouted.

"And you’re still a child."

"I’m top of my class this semester! I’m a shinobi too, now! »

Itachi caught himself short of smirking. "I don’t know."

"Come on, nii-san? Please?" _You don’t spend any time with me, anymore_… Sasuke didn’t voice that out, because Itachi had made very clear he wouldn’t stay with him if he even _suspected_ Sasuke wasn’t up for this one hundred per cent.

This was why Sasuke had had to learn the basics of honeypot missions in excruciating details, to convince Itachi he could be allowed in into the conversation. Then he had to insist over and over again that he was entirely fine discussing this with his brother, and swear about a hundred times he really, truly wanted to help him with this training.

Sasuke loved training with Itachi, when he had time for it. This made him feel special, being the only one allowed to help out his genius elder brother with his sole weakness. But Itachi kept second-guessing himself and shutting him out, sometimes days at a time…

His brother sighed. "Alright. _Maybe_. But if I notice that you’re getting even _slightly_ uncomfortable we put a stop to this. Understood?"

Sasuke nodded with a relieved sigh. Their parents were out for the night, and he’d noticed Itachi was less worried discussing this then. That meant he would be able to spend hours with his older brother when he was relaxed and reachable.

"Let’s start as easy as possible, with the basics", Itachi mumbled, as if he was already regretting his decision. "Strip."

Sasuke took his shirt off, then his socks. Then it downed to him he would have to get naked, like in the weird pictures he’d forced himself to study those past weeks. It was a bit weird, undressing in front of Itachi in that context, and he slowed down, hoping Itachi wouldn’t notice his uncertainty.

His brother didn’t seem to notice, as he was checking out a shiny magazine page for the proper technique. "On your back. With spread legs."

He talked in a very cold, detached manner, and Sasuke realised with elation he was getting to see Itachi’s work face. That was a part of him he’d never had access to.

"Right", Itachi said to himself, opening the drawing of his nightside table to pull out three condoms and a bottle of lubricant. Sasuke knew those by name, and he’d seen pictures, but he’d never imagined his brother would keep them by his bed.

He felt cold, suddenly, he wasn’t sure why, like his inside had shrank. He wanted to put his hands down to hide himself, but he was scared Itachi would get mad he was suddenly uncertain. It was like he’d been frozen into place, and unable to move.

Itachi put the magazine down, neatly on the nightside table, and opened the small bottle to pour a large amount on Sasuke’s bottom, then spreading it casually with a hand. He acted so detached and methodical it comforted Sasuke a little. This was just training, he told himself, though another part of him was suddenly wondering why Itachi hadn’t asked someone else for help.

Then Sasuke remembered he’d been the one insisting they did this.

Itachi didn’t undress, simply opening the zipper of his pants in a way that kept his _thing_ hidden from Sasuke’s view, and he leaned over him until his head was pressed against the pillow next to Sasuke’s head. "Step two", he whispered in his little brother’s ear, and then he pushed in.

*

Sasuke kept very still as his brother breathed loudly in his ear. He could feel the tip of Itachi’s… the tip breaching in, easily with the amount of lubricant that had been poured on him, and he wondered why they were training this aspect of the mission while the major part of honeypot data gathering relied on seducing and manipulating a person into trusting their enemy.

Itachi didn’t slide in all the way at once, testing the sensation first, getting the head of his cock in and out lazily, then a little further, and keeping at it patiently until he was quite deep inside his little brother’s body. Sasuke wasn’t moving at all, but Itachi didn’t mind. He needed to pretend he couldn’t notice how uncomfortable that was making him, else he would have to stop to maintain his facade. He kept pumping in, experimenting with rhythm and angles, noting when he elicited a wince or a surprised whimper. When he was done testing this out, he let himself weight down on the far smaller body, grabbed Sasuke by the ass and pushed in until his balls hit the back of the bare bottocks. Fuck, that felt good. He wished he could go farther…

Then he allowed himself to thrust in freely, at his own pace, to feel the pleasure of rubbing his dick into a tight, hot tunnel of flesh. He relished in Sasuke’s scent, burying his face in the short spikes of his hair, then kissed the side of his neck, softly.

He didn’t let himself come this time, and pulled out as he was still hard.

Sasuke looked very pale, and shaken, but he was also brave enough to keep a straight face as Itachi sat down next to him to collect himself. He didn’t ask if this was over, probably because he couldn’t speak at all right now.

Once he’d gathered his breath back, Itachi leaned in for short peck, then turned his little brother around, propping him on all fours, though Sasuke’s arms gave up immediately and only left his bent legs and ass in the air.

As much as Itachi also wished for a long, sweaty night of sweet love, he knew he couldn’t start off this way. This would be the foundation of Sasuke’s approach to sex, and Itachi needed to set his "normal" to high levels of abandon and submission to violence if he were to properly enjoy their relationship later on.

So this time he grabbed him by the hips and pushed in harshly, setting up a pace of sharp, painful thrusts. It was easier to fuck in this position, with his body comfortably kneeling and free to pump in and out without the pull of gravity. Itachi liked control, and taking his pleasure without a care for the other. Ingraining this was the default type of fuck in Sasuke’s brain would ensure he accepted worse, and feel grateful for gentler love making. He was taking it very bravely, only wincing after particularly brutal slams in, and not crying at all. Maybe later.

This time, Itachi came. He’d gotten rid of the condom when turning his brother around, so he could feel the pleasure of releasing himself inside his small body. It would be better when he grew up, sturdier, but this kind of manipulation had to start young to bear the tastiest fruit later on. Besides, Itachi wouldn’t have waited.

He let a thread of semen run down Sasuke’s thigh, fascinated to see himself on that skin, then he laid his brother down on his belly to lay next to him, cradling him from behind.

"I feel this needs improvement", he said, kissing the back of Sasuke’s neck, gently, while he hands ran down the fair body to learn its curves and creases. He pulled the cover over them both.

"But I feel already more confident about it. No one else would have been as supportive as you are, otouto." He kissed him again, spreading peck along his jaw and neck. "I wanted to go through the first five positions tonight, but I’d rather you take some rest first. It’s hard training for a newly appointed shinobi."

Sasuke shifted ever-so-slightly. Then he lifted a hand to grab his brother’s wrist like a child pulls on clothes for reassurance.

"Thank you", he whispered, and Itachi smirked.


	2. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi and Sasuke's relationship evolved through time, but not in the way Itachi expected it would.

Terrified that Hiruzen Sarutobi would have manipulated Itachi into murdering the whole Uchiha clan, and convinced that Itachi’s Mangekyou was the sole weaponthat could keep the Hokage at bay, their parents had entrusted Sasuke to Itachi completely. For his own protection. The irony.

Years later, Itachi had gained a reputation as Konoha’s fiercest warrior, perhaps the strongest in Fire, destined to become the first Uchiha Hokage. Sasuke was known as his dutiful little brother, groomed to become his personal advisor when Itachi would rise to power.

Itachi had made sure to cultivate Sasuke’s attachement to him in the manner of favours, such as allowing him to become a shinobi instead of focusing on administrative studies. His parents disliked that situation greatly, because of the dangers of working as a ninja and the risks to Sasuke’s life. Sasuke was grateful to Itachi for letting him follow in his footsteps and convinced his parents had resisted that option out of finding him weak, which had alienated him further from them.

The situation couldn’t have developed better for Itachi, Sasuke losing himself in school work and shutting his family off, which meant he’d become even more suggestible to Itachi’s whims. By the time Sasuke reached sixteen, he was perfectly broken in.

"Naruto said his parents will send him travelling with his uncle", Sasuke said as he was casually sitting on his brother’s dick, riding him lazily as Itachi was reading an important scroll behind his back. They were in Itachi’s flat, on his large bed, facing each other, with the blinds closed.

Itachi hummed at the news, indicating he was listening when he was actually studying a complicated seal found on the ground of his last mission. He rubbed Sasuke’s hip absentmindedly as en encouragement, though.

Sasuke stopped moving. "His uncle is Jiraiya, you know. The Sannin? Do you think I could ever get a Sannin as my teacher?"

Not just any Sannin, of course. Sasuke had grown up as a huge fan of Orochimaru, because he was the knowledgeable one. He had posters of the Legendary trio hung to his bedroom walls, only one with Orochimaru by himself, because his father hated that man. Mikoto didn’t mind.

"Don’t stop", Itachi scolded lightly, raising his hips to get him moving again.

Sasuke glared, but complied. "You’re not listening."

"You’re asking if you could get a Sannin as your teacher."

Sasuke waited for a follow-up, but Itachi only tapped on his asscheek to get him going. Which he did, reluctantly.

"Well?" he snapped.

"Jiraiya-san already has a student."

"And Tsunade is considering taking Sakura under her wing. What about me?"

"Lord Orochimaru doesn’t take students."

"Could you ask him? »

Itachi stopped looking at his scrolls. "He’s busy being head of ROOT, otouto."

"I know! I just…" Sasuke looked away. "Sakura is already working at the hospital full time, and now Naruto is leaving…"

"You’d rather he stayed?"

Sasuke pouted. "I can’t ask that of him. He’s so happy to leave Konoha with his pervert uncle, to travel and learn stuff."

That seemed to bother him a lot. Sasuke didn’t have many friends, since he devoted all of his free time to work, and that made his team-mate special to him. Especially Naruto.

"And you’re working to make ANBU. You can’t slack off."

Sasuke stopped moving again. He did that a lot, get distracted by his own thoughts instead of keeping the pleasure pumping. "I wish I could leave Konoha."

That got Itachi’s attention. "What do you mean?"

"Travel, discover the world… Naruto’s so lucky. He told me he’d ask Jiraiya if I could tag along. He’s no Orochimaru, but I’d still learn a great deal from him."

Itachi put his scroll down casually. "I see. I’ll try asking Jiraiya-san if he would do you that favour."

"Really?" Sasuke beamed, and it ocured to Itachi he hadn’t seen him smile in quite a while.

"Of course, otouto", he replied while shifting their positions so Sasuke was on his back, ready to be pounded in. "I’d do anything for you."

*

"I heard from Sasuke that you want to leave Konoha", Itachi said as he stepped into Naruto’s training ground.

"Oh, hi ‘tachi!" Naruto grinned. He rubbed off sweat from his brow on his drenched shirt. "Long time no seen!"

Itachi looked at him slowly, from head to toe. Naruto licked his lips nervously. "Yeah, no… I’m just leaving with the old perv’ to complete my training. It’s going to be dope!"

« Sasuke said Sakura is also leaving with Lady Tsunade", Itachi replied while circling Naruto’s bag and the thrown weapons he was using to exercice himself with.

"Oh, she’s not leaving, she’ll be training in the hospita…"

"How long are you going to be away?"

"I, uh… dunno? Three years?"

Itachi glowered. "I see."

"Why? That’s not going to be a problem, is it?"

"Of course not. Congratulations on getting such a skilled tutor."

Naruto hesitated. "Sasuke’s not too happy about it, is he? He’s the most hard-working of us all, and no one offered to tutor him yet…"

That he knew of, Itachi thought. It was commun courtesy to go to one’s guardian to test the waters first, and everyone knew Itachi was in charge of Sasuke.

"I have ensured he would be accepted into the ANBU cursus at the Academy. He’ll get someone to teach him then."

"Yeah, okay." Naruto had heard about that from Sasuke’s own mouth, since it meant he wouldn’t be able to leave to travel with them. Sasuke had been very excited, because it had been a childhood dream of his to make ANBU like his big brother. "So… what do you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I’m worried about my little brother. He won’t talk much about it, but he would miss you a great deal."

Naruto looked at his feet, scratching his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I, uh… Figured."

He was turning pink, which caught Itachi’s attention. "Did he tell you about it?"

"Uh, no, it’s…" Now Naruto was very red. "I… I’m not too sure but, uh… I think he kinda asked me out, ‘ttebayo?"

Itachi’s face didn’t move, but for a second it felt like a gap to nowhere had opened under his feet and sucked his heart down into its cold void. "‘Kinda’?"

"Well, it’s…" Naruto fidgeted. "I’m not sure, but… he sort of said he liked me? You know, in his own way, because he also called me an idiot in the same sentence so… But it’s… and I’m not really… I mean, I really love him, and he’s a great guy and all but… I don’t know it’s… He’s my best friend! Isn’t it going to be weird?"

Itachi swallowed, and breathed quietly in, then out. "What’s the worse that could happen, really? Even if that situation ends up ruining your friendship, you two are young. You will always make other friends. Well, you would. I’m not so sure about Sasuke."

Naruto looked up in distress. "You think that could ruin our friendship?"

"That’s not what I said."

"But it could, couldn’t it? I don’t want to lose the bastard! And I don’t want him to end up with no friends!" He rubbed his messy hair in confusion. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I’m sure he’ll expect an answer or… I don’t know…"

Itachi went to stand by his side, and pressed his palm on the teen’s shoulder. "You two are young. It might only be a crush on his part, something that will pass, with time. It’s lucky that you are leaving actually, because distance would help him grow out of it, so you two can resume your friendship as if that little hiccup never happened."

"You think?" Naruto seemed uncertain, but not because he didn’t believe Itachi’s words.

Because he wasn’t sure he wanted the "hiccup" to pass.

"Think about it", Itachi stated. "If you come back in three years, you will both have had time to think about whether it’s worth the risk or not. Making hasty decisions is what could ruin it all."

"Uh. That makes sense."

Itachi smiled. "I’ll talk to him. Don’t worry about a thing."

*

Sasuke wasn’t the most expressive teen, but Itachi knew to recognise his moods from the slightest shift of his facial features.

"You’re looking a little down."

Sasuke shrugged, without looking away from the window.

"Otouto. What’s going on?"

"I’m fine."

_Liar_. "Sasuke."

"I’m fine, nii-san. Leave me alone."

Itachi went to sit by him. "Tell me about it."

"Will you fuck off?" Sasuke got up to leave, but his brother grabbed him by the waist to pull him unto his lap. "Tell me about it."

"There’s nothing to say."

"You’re a very bad liar." Itachi kissed him on the cheek. "Naruto left, today."

Sasuke’s face blanched. Then, slowly, the neutral expression melted down into one of acute sadness, and he nodded.

"I’m sorry, otouto. I wish he would have loved you enough to stay."

"It’s not about love", Sasuke snapped. He tried to stand but Itachi pulled him back against him. "He’s leaving to live his life. Good for him."

Itachi didn’t answer, pecking the side of his neck instead. "He’ll come back. And I’m sure he’ll miss you a lot, too."

"Tch." Sasuke pushed him harshly away, though Itachi managed to keep him in his arms by standing up when he did. "I want to be alone, now."

"I think you need me here. To show you you’re not actually alone."

"Just leave me be, will you?" The anger in Sasuke’s voice was tinted in hesitation. He’d rarely gone against his brother over the years, and Itachi had always managed to turn it around to present himself as the reasonable one, while Sasuke was left questioning his own decisions.

This time, Itachi decided to back off. "Alright. I’ll give you a moment, then we’ll eat. I’m making your favourite."

Sasuke’s chest was rising up and down fast. "I…" It was like tears were stuck in his throat. "I want to stop."

"Stop?" Itachi rose an eyebrow as he was mentally gathering the ingredients to prepare the onigiri. Were they out of tomato juice or…?

"Us. I want to stop what’s going on between us."

Itachi blinked. "That discussion? I told you—"

"I don’t want to have sex again."

Now Itachi understood the meaning of the roof falling on your head without a warning sign. "You’re upset", he managed to say. "Take a break, then come back to eat."

"I don’t want us to have sex again", Sasuke repeated, his trembling voice fighting to gain confidence. "I want to stop. It’s… It’s over."

Itachi didn’t move. He managed to keep a blank face. "Don’t be ridiculous."

"You’re way done training for ANBU!" Sasuke snapped, his eyes wide in fear. Itachi could see them swirling, turning into the Sharingan, and he noticed a second tomoe that he’d not seen before. Naruto had really broken his heart, had he?

"Of course I am", Itachi said, calmly. "What we have goes far beyond that."

"What we have is sick", Sasuke uttered, though Itachi could see his hesitation. "We’re brothers. If our parents knew—"

"What we have is love", Itachi corrected him. "It may have started as a brother helping the other out, but it’s evolved since then. You do know that, do you? How much I care about you?"

Sasuke flinched. "We don’t have to have sex for…"

"That I’m in love with you."

Itachi had not planned to say it, and he’d not even considered his feelings until then, but when he said the words, he could recognise the truth of it. "I can’t imagine my life without you, otouto. You’re everything to me."

Sasuke’s eyes looked around in disarray. "I…"

Itachi stepped in, wrapped his arms around the other’s body. Sasuke had just been rejected by Naruto. He knew how much that hurt. "I love you", he whispered, marveling at how nice it felt to say it. Why hadn’t he noticed before? When had that happened? He couldn’t live without that warmth against him, without Sasuke’s scent.

"I want it to stop", Sasuke whispered in a low, defeated tone. "Please."

Itachi kissed him.

Sasuke was upset now, in turmoil because of Naruto’s departure. That would pass. He gently pushed him against the wall to kiss him deeper, running his hands against the beloved body.

"Please", Sasuke repeated, and Itachi could taste the salt of a tear on his tongue.

"_Please_."

That night, Itachi made love to Sasuke for the first time, and Sasuke looked at the ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love comments and fic rec on the same topic if you know some!


	3. Here comes the winter of our discontent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi's relationship to Sasuke deteriorates further.

For the next few years, Itachi managed to guilt Sasuke into accepting his love, and he only mentioned his wish to break up twice. He was still very much a child at heart, and an insecure teen. But then he made Jounin, and got the opportunity to leave for solo missions, travelling the world as he had always dreamt of. He wasn’t even home when Naruto came back, as he had started taking longer and longer missions.

He was very good at his job, and Itachi was very busy preparing himself to become Hokage, so he made do with the situation at first.

But then Sasuke didn’t come home to him, staying over at their parents instead. He seemed to hate that place, but he refused to come back to his brother’s flat when Itachi offered. Their parents didn’t understand why Sasuke was breaking his brother’s heart this way, which only turned him sourer, and defensive towards them. Still, he didn’t leave their house.

He started avoiding situations where he would be left alone with Itachi altogether. No one knew why the previously affectionate young man acted so snappy and distant. His parents scolded him for such a bad attitude, and encouraged him to act more like his elder brother.

Sasuke got angrier. He didn’t even accept the casual brushing of the hands from Itachi. He didn’t confide in him anymore, nor in anyone else.

Itachi had to strategise their meetings more carefully than ever.

« You did this to me », he said. « You insisted to have sex with me, you seduced me, you _made_ me love you. And now you’re throwing me away? »

« I was seven », Sasuke replied. « I was a kid. I didn’t know what I was doing. »

« You knew exactly what you were doing. The positions, what went were. You knew it all by heart. »

« That’s because you made sure I would! You… you turned things around so… »

« I told you I didn’t want it. I repeatedly told you off. It’s _you_ who insisted we… »

They fought a lot.

It got really difficult for Itachi to have sex with his younger brother, so he developed a tactic. Since Sasuke was terrified by the idea that their parents would discover the whole issue, he ambushed him in his batroom at their home, while they were present. Either Sasuke caved, or their would be discovered, and Sasuke couldn’t allow that to happen.

« You can’t do that », Sasuke said as he fought back as silently as he could. « I said it’s over. »

« You say that all the time », Itachi retorted as he pushed him against the wall of his tiny bathroom. « And you always end up changing your mind. »

Sasuke glared, and tried kicking him in the groin, which Itachi had anticipated and avoided. « Come on, otouto. It’s been three months. »

« It should last a lifetime. »

« You don’t mean that. »

Footsteps in the corridor caught Sasuke’s attention, so Itachi took the opportunity to pull his pants down, though it cost him a punch. « I don’t get why you’re making such a show. You used to love this. I’m really good at pleasuring you. »

« You’re fucking kidding me, are you? » Sasuke was trying to put his pants back on, which allowed Itachi to rip his shirt off. The less presentable he would look, the less he would want to get caught.

« This is not a joke to me at all », Itachi replied as he pressed himself against the other’s body and started mouthing at his neck, knowing how sensitive it was.

« I’ve always hated sleeping with you », Sasuke scoffed, pushing him away from his neck and gaining a hand down his pants. « Fuck. Let go! »

« I’ve made you come so many times. I know all your good spots. You can’t say you haven’t enjoyed it. »

Sasuke was caught in-between the wall, the sink, and the shower. Conjuring chakra would get his parents’s attention.

Someone knocked on the door. « Sasuke? Are you done? We’ll be eating soon. »

« Coming, mum », he replied as Itachi smirked, pulling his pants and underwear all the way down then pressed back against him anew.

« Will you tell your brother to come, too? »

« Oh, he will », Itachi whispered as he maneuvered his brother’s legs up so he could push in.

Sasuke was fighting back, but it was hard to do so in silence. « I will. »

« Alright, don’t be too long, sweetheart. »

Itachi had gained access, and Sasuke gave up. He let him have his way front and back while he waited for it to be over, which worked until Itachi got his first orgasm. Afterward, fucking a lifeless doll didn’t bode well by him, and he started pushing all of Sasuke’s buttons, irritating his brother again. « Get it over with, will you? »

« Not before making you unravel », Itachi whispered as he thrusted shallowly. « You’ll remember how much you like me inside you. »

Sasuke didn’t bother fighting that nonsense, but it was getting hard to keep quiet. Itachi really knew all of his good spots, and he eventually managed to get him worked on, which Sasuke hated even more than the fact he’d gotten him trapped and fucked.

« You can moan, you know », Itachi murmured as he stroked Sasuke’s inner thigh while nibbling on his earlobe. « I know how much you love when I… » He pulled on the black, spiky hair and bit his neck. Then he angled his hips at the right angle to massage Sasuke’s sweet spot while he grabbed his dick to keep him in the right place. Sasuke cursed, but didn’t move away. He was too used to passively waits for Itachi to be done, and this was easier than fighting back at the risk of being discovered.

The irritated voice of their father came through the door. « Are you done, yet? We’ve been waiting for you. »

Sasuke winced, as his brother smirked. « If you moan for me, I’ll release you faster. » Itachi started stroking his brother’s dick with just the right amount of pressure.

« I’ll… I’m treating a wound, dad », Sasuke lied. « Don’t tell mom. I’ll come in a minute. »

There was a pregnant pause, during which Itachi managed to push a groan out of him, but acted generous by muffling it behind his palm. Then, he thrusted harder.

« Alright, son. » Fugaku seemed to buy the excuse, and his tone had softened. « Don’t be long. »

Sasuke hummed, teeth gritted. He could feel his eyes tingle with repressed tears as his brother go harsher, as he always did. He couldn’t help himself; he liked pounding in hard and fast, sometimes bordering violence in his ramming in. Since their father had left, Sasuke allowed himself to stop thinking about keeping his composure and focused rather on getting this over with.

« See? » Itachi said as Sasuke panted after his orgasm. « You love it. You’re just too proud to admit it. »

There was no point in fighting him. Itachi would turn anything around and find loopholes, as he always did. « This was our last time. »

« Until dinner. I’ll be back tonight. »

« Don’t you dare. »

« Oh? Do you want a third round right now? I could get going. It _has_ been three months. »

Sasuke ignored him, but Itachi knew he’d won this round.

*

« Sasuke… I need to tell you something. »

Sasuke barely looked up from the scroll he had been studying.

« It’s pretty important, otouto. »

The young man sighed and put his work aside. « What? »

When had he turned so snappy? Itachi went to sit by his younger brother, who had made sure to pull a single chair far away from any other piece of furniture in order to protect his personal space.

« I’ve been given a long-term mission. »

« Hn. »

« S-ranked. »

« You get those all the time. »

« Not such a long one. I’ll be gone at least a year. »

That caught Sasuke’s attention. He looked up properly. « Really? »

He didn’t seem particularly moved, perhaps simply intrigued. « I thought you didn’t want to leave Konoha. » Understand: _me_.

« I don’t. But this is not a mission I can refuse. No one else would be able to success the way I would. »

« Okay. »

Was that relief in Sasuke’s stance?

« It will be very dangerous, otouto. Even for me. » Infiltrating the Akatsuki as a double agent could prove lethal for anyone.

« Sure. »

Itachi frowned. « Don’t you understand what I’m saying? »

Sasuke held his gaze. « You’re saying you could die. »

He pronounced those words as if he didn’t care. As if he would, maybe, enjoy that a little. Itachi stepped in. « Wouldn’t you mind at all? »

« Of course I would mind. » Sasuke pushed him away. « But at the same time, it’d mean you’d stop raping me. It’s hard to pick a stance. »

Itachi keep still, standing in front of his darling brother with limp arms. « You seduced me. You made me fall in love with you. »

« By begging that you’d stop? See, that’s why I wouldn’t mind you dying. »

Sasuke spoke in a very cold, detached tone, but Itachi could see his hands trembling. He knew the young man still refused to kill anyone, even though his missions had pitted him against truly horrifying bandits. Those words were hard for him to utter, and he clearly didn’t mean them.

Itachi stepped in again, pushing one leg in-between his sitting brother’s thighs. When Sasuke moved to stand up, Itachi grabbed him by the hips and maintained him in his chair as himself knelt before him, sliding his arms around his brother’s waist. « I know you don’t mean that. »

« You don’t know anything about me anymore. »

« I know you better than you know yourself. » Itachi lifted his brother’s shirt to kiss his chest, his belly. « I know you wouldn’t survive me dying. »

« Shut up. »

Sasuke had looked away. He did that when he refused to face an uncomfortable truth.

« I’ll tell you what. When I’m gone, live your life as you will. Move out. Take a lover. I’ll be gone long enough for you to realise no one loves you like I do, and that no one ever will. » He mouthed at Sasuke’s belly, nipped the skin between his teeth. « You’re used to my touch, to my breath over yours. Other hands will feel foreign on your skin. Any other rhythm will seem to be missing a beat. Try it out, otouto. You’ll know soon enough. »

« Starting now », Sasuke said while pushing Itachi away to stand up. His brother didn’t let go, and they started struggling, one to stay in control, the other one to leave. Itachi was stronger, but Sasuke had learnt how to be swift and cunning. He managed to stay at bay for about half an hour before his brother got him pressed face down into the bed.

Usually, that meant Sasuke would curse Itachi while his brother started caressing him into surrender. Sasuke had long learnt that it was easier to let go than fight and lose. He only stopped struggling when he was out of stamina, and Itachi only had to wait until that moment.

That time, Sasuke stopped fighting back a little sooner, because learning Itachi was leaving made him feel he wouldn’t have to struggle for much longer.

That time, Itachi didn’t nip at his neck tenderly while he worked his hands over him. Instead, he grabbed his brother’s hair and ripped his pants off before pushing in hard, and dry. Sasuke was too shocked to react, and Itachi rammed in angrily, with a brutality he’d never displayed before, pushing the dark-haired head into the sheets.

He wasn’t even feeling any pleasure himself, too upset to focus on that. What he wanted was to hear Sasuke cry, to pull out tears from his dry eyes. To make him feel the pain he ought at learning Itachi was leaving. To sense the same burning ache at the idea of separation as Itachi was. The same despair.

Winces and gritted teeth weren’t enough, so he slammed harder, he pulled on the spiked of his hair so fiercely some stayed stuck to his fingers. But when he teared strangled yells out of Sasuke, it still wasn’t enough. When the black eyes went red and wet, when his brother’s knuckled turned white from clenching the sheets, it wasn’t enough.

This wasn’t a tenth of the pain Itachi was feeling, both at leaving his brother behind and at his indifference. He leaned down, pressed himself against Sasuke’s back, and bit at the side of his neck hard enough to draw blood. He hadn’t tasted Sasuke’s blood before, and he instinctively sucked on it, though it felt like copper.

He’d never acted that violent either, which felt oddly liberating. Sasuke didn’t protest when he got undressed, his eyes dull and his body pliant. Itachi turned him around freely to enact his darkest fantasies, the ones he’d kept under control until now. He left the shape of his hands all over Sasuke’s skin, in blues and purples. He half-strangled him and scratched him so deep his own fingers got tainted red. When he was done with him, Sasuke looked like a lifeless doll, which didn’t protest when Itachi kissed his lips.

And if Sasuke wasn’t present to bid Itachi farewell as he left for his mission, at least it wasn’t out of indifference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I'll write more of this. I don't hc Sas as dead here, but he'd not in the best state. Thanks for any comments, see you next time.


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